Where is the Road Work on 7A?

letter to the editor-


 I don't know about anyone else but it seems to me that the only indication of work on 7A,other than the demolition of the bridge, are the signs stating that there's work being done. It has been over a month, makes you wonder, does't it. 
Bruce Kuty

The Best of Times in Copake Government

To the Editor,

The best times in government occur when a great idea which has been long in its planning finally comes to fruition. We are extremely fortunate in Copake to be experiencing two such moments. Not only is the Town Board ready to consider the Comprehensive Plan, which has been three plus years in the making, but this past week saw the start of the placement of the solar panels on the Parks and Recreation Building. First of all I wish to thank Jeanne Mettler who took what began as a somewhat contentious Town Board process and brought together a wonderful composite of people. To all of you who served on the Comprehensive Planning Committee, who diligently met a minimum of twice monthly for three plus years, the reward of your labors is in our hands and I wish to express gratitude for all your efforts.  I am also excited at the prospect of being involved in implementing this vision for Copake in the coming years; a vision for which you have built the framework. It doesn't get much better than this.

The other moment of note also began in 2008 when I returned from a grant seminar at the Roosevelt Library and committed with Councilman Tompkins to diligently working to make solar panels on the Park Building and Town Hall a reality.  Throughout the process there have been many phone calls, ups and downs, grant writing sessions, and meetings. Never once did either of us believe we would fail, and one of the nice things about working so closely with a colleague is that at any given point in time one or the other can step forward to keep things moving.  Over this extended period of time both Dan and I alternately shouldered the burden of keeping things on track, whether it be making certain we hit deadlines or finding the answers to any question which might possibly be asked by those who had concerns about this project. While the journey has been long, the process was always a pleasure and to have been a participant in making something happen which will benefit the entire town is quite rewarding.

An additional reward of the solar panel process was the role it served in bringing the Town Board together.  Much as Jeanne brought together a disparate group of people to produce a cohesive and unified final document, Dan and I were able to find the common ground needed to move things forward. Bi-partisanship is a reward in and of itself, and so I would particularly like to take this point in time to thank my colleague Dan Tompkins for reaching out. Together we discovered that in reality our commonalities far exceeded our differences and that once a dialogue is begun about one subject then other discussions about other topics will soon follow. By discovering not only that we worked well together, but that we actually enjoyed working together, it became possible to accomplish much more than would have otherwise been possible in what was once a divided Town Board. So I thank my colleague, my friend Dan Tompkins for the positive experience working with him has been and for working with me to bring positive change to Copake. Your presence on the Town Board will be missed next year, Dan.

It truly takes people willing to come together, to listen to each other and to compromise to make things happen. I am grateful to have been able to be a part of this dynamic and am looking forward to all that we the people of Copake will accomplish in the coming years. It's an exciting time to be a part of local government and I am thankful for the six years of experience on the Town Board which I can now utilize in continuing this process of setting and reaching positive goals for Copake.  As I said before, it doesn't get much better than this.

Linda Gabaccia

I Stand a Luddite....Proudly

For every cell tower that goes up, light industry that constructs a new building, or historic, old train station that
gets bulldozed to make way for Lord knows what, I  become more and
more steadfast in my opposition to change, at least some kinds of change.
I am more interested in re-invogorating the existing infrastructure of downtown.
Empty existing storefronts should be filled.
Sidewalks should be maintained and maybe even lengthened.
The clock being restored is terrific.
We should, as stewards of this rural town, be steadfast in preserving what we have,
maintaining the self-sufficiency of our strong, supportive community, and taking the bolder and braver steps
to holding firm to what we already have and vehemently denying the ru-burbanization of Copake.
I have to wonder:
Does a cell tower pose any risk whatsoever to our health?
The phones themselves possibly do.
So, perhaps a giant magnet for a bunch of transmissions might too. But, I dunno. Do you?
If the EMS, Fire, and Police crews need stronger communication systems, I think that's paramount, and we should focus on that very seriously.
I have spoken to a couple of members of both the EMS and Police departments,
and I have been told that their system is independent of any cell tower that might go up.
Is there any way to boost the existing Emergency Services communication system so
they can obtain life-saving signals in a wider range of areas and not have to switch to their personal cellphones to make
possible life-saving calls?
I like the idea of the best technology for what's truly important.
Do we know what's going to be built on the south entrance from Rt. 22 after the great old train station is gone?
A storage facility that we really don't need?
An open space of simply grass and trees?
I dunno.
Are we going to start to fill-in the long stretch between downtown Hillsdale and the new library in Copake?
Probably...eventually.
None of this new stuff will ever come down again. Clearing open space for new construction allows for a domino-effect of
"since one tower is up, we might need another because I still cannot make a call from such-and-such road".
Or, "well, there's already a couple of light-industries here, and they're doing well, so we might want a couple more".
Or, "well, nobody seems to want to restore the general store and open something up in the same space, so we might want to consider
encouraging an entrepreneur to build a new store on the flats, or somewhere else".
And, so on.
I say we care for and support what we already have, fill-up the empty buildings and
explore other solutions before we crap-up another hilltop, or build out and beyond, into open space.
Let's research how to help the Emergency Services folks obtain the best possible system of communication and learn to live with some dead zones
when we are trying to Twitter our BFFs.
If someone gets stuck in a ditch and cannot get a signal, maybe someone one will stop and help them. I know I would.
I smell the signs of sprawl.
It may not happen today, or tomorrow, but it feels like it's coming and when it does, it won't stop.
If the majority of the town wants new, better, bigger and faster, so be it.
But, my fears of what might begin to happen here do make me want to stand firmer and clearer on my stance
about preserving, supporting, and maximizing what we already have.
Perhaps I stand alone.
So I shall.
Truly,
Steve Rosenzweig, King of the Luddites.